1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of canvasworking techniques and articles, and more particularly to a simple, yet versatile, method for entirely covering an open weave material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of canvasworking techniques are well known as methods for creating artistic works. In the long history of this artistic field, a few basic types of canvasworking have been developed and endured. Embroidery, for example, is a traditional method for producing a pattern upon a cloth material. Crewel is a similar process by which patterns are produced upon a cloth backing, crewel differing from embroidery primarily in the use of heavier yarns to produce filled-in areas of the pattern. Canvaswork on the other hand is a process by which the entire surface of a work piece is covered, thereby creating a background as well as a pattern on the finished work.
One of the most well known forms of canvaswork is conventional needlepoint. In this method the stitches are applied diagonally on the canvas. The most basic stitch used in conventional needlepoint is the tent stitch in which the junction between one warp thread and one woof thread is covered diagonally by the strand of material being used to cover the open weave background. The tent stitch is repeated successively with adjacent junctions of warp and woof threads working from the bottom left hole to the upper right hole until the entire work piece is completed. This technique has several desirable features which have made this canvasworking method such a popular one. Because of the small stitches, the designs which may be produced are many.
Further, the finished work is relatively hard and wears very well so that the product may be used for heavy use applications such as on chair seats or foot stools. It is also well known, however, that there are several disadvantages in performing conventional needlepoint. Perhaps the most notable disadvantage is that this method is a very slow, laborious and tedious procedure which requires considerable concentration and potential eye strain. Further, although the procedure is versatile with respect to the types of designs which may be reproduced, the borders between different colors in the work are rather prominent and a hard-edge effect results. Also, curves and straight diagonal lines produced in certain areas of the work appear jagged. Finally, in performing this technique the open weave canvas material may become quite distorted, and the finished work correspondingly loses some of its attractiveness.
A contrasting canvasworking technique is known as bargello and differs in part from conventional needlepoint in that the process is more quickly performed. In bargello the stitches are upright on the canvas and are worked in stitch patterns such as those known by the terms Florentine, Byzantine, Hungarian Point, and Flame Stitch. For each stitch pattern a uniform stitch length is used. These stitches are applied to the open weave canvas by extending between parallel and adjacent warp threads or woof threads, the stitches thereby covering only the woof threads or the warp threads, respectively. The stitches used in bargello typically extend over between two and nine warp or woof threads, but the number of threads covered by a single stitch is always uniform for a given work. In some designs, stitches extending over six threads, for example, may be combined with stitches extending over two threads, for example, but once the pattern is established it does not vary for that work piece. As a result, the designs which may be reproduced by bargello are limited, and usually are based upon geometric patterns having one or two line repeating patterns. Bargello does have the advantages of being faster and producing less canvas distortion than in conventional needlepoint, and the finished product does wear well. The primary limitations, however, are in the facts that the types of designs which may be reproduced by bargello are limited, and the stitches must be uniform in length and therefore counted throughout the work piece.
Although a variety of canvasworking techniques, such as conventional needlepoint and bargello, have been in existence for a considerable time, a canvasworking method which combines the design versatility of conventional needlepoint and the speed of bargello has not heretofore been devised. The method of the present invention provides both of these advantages in a single canvasworking technique, and therefore, satisfies this longstanding need.
Various forms of canvasworking are the subject of issued U.S. patents. In U.S. Pat. No. 1,869,386, issued to Marzak on Aug. 2, 1932, there is disclosed a specific embroidery stitch which is applied to a cloth base. The method for making simulated needlepoint embroidery is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,240,176, issued to Morrison on Mar. 15, 1966. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,040,332, issued to Kleinwald on June 26, 1962, there is disclosed an embroidery technique which is intended to produce a three dimensional effect in the finished article. A method for mechanically reproducing embroidery articles is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,791,599, issued to Moevus et al. on Feb. 10, 1932. A method of producing an ornamental work by applying thread or yarn to a rigid or semi-rigid, mesh is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,333,687, issued to Strasburger on Mar. 16, 1920.